The Road Not Traveled

Chapters

Act I
Act II
Act III

Act I

Another bandage hugged Mac's ribs as he took in steady lungfuls of the air at dusk. He hadn't been of much use to the farm recently after re-injuring himself. He could still perform most of his normal chores, but no heavy activity, doctor's orders. Granny Smith always told him he worked himself too hard day in and day out. He'd pretend to heed her advice and assure her he'd take it easier the next day, but he never did.

Work was in his blood, like his father's before him, and grandfather before him, and so on. The work of their family helped build this town, and he'd be damned if he didn't keep up the proud tradition of enduring hardships so that others may live with fresh apples available every day. Setting aside philosophy and family pride, work was an easy way to bury one's problems, and repress anything that hurt to consider.

Apples or no apples, today wasn't about the grand nobility of the working stallion. Applejack had gone off to Canterlot with Apple Bloom to the biggest social event of the year outside the gala itself: the wedding of Princess Cadence and Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor. Just the thought brought a bit of a scowl to his face, though it quickly melted back into the normal stoic expression he wore in all but the most unusual cases.

It wasn't as though he hadn't been invited. His invitation sat on his dresser, unopened. Applejack had asked if he was going to don his father's suit and join them, but he insisted there was work to be done at the farm. He was surprisingly well-versed in lying, given which Element of Harmony his sister represented. He knew there was no work to be done that couldn't have waited until they'd returned. Yet he knew there was no place for him at that wedding. The invitation said otherwise, but Mac knew how he had come to get one in the first place. After all, as far as anyone else knew, there would be no reason to not invite him. Not even Princess Cadence would have considered the reason he declined their invite. Only himself and Shining Armor were privy to such information, and for it to become public knowledge wouldn't bother Mac so much as it would him.

Shining had a reputation as a family stallion now—as head of one of the most elite units in Equestria—second only to the personal guards of Luna and Celestia themselves. A liaison between him and another stallion? He could envision the tabloid headlines now.

Royal Guard Captain Kicked Out of Palace by Princess! Juicy Details About Shining Armor's Fling With Stallion Inside!

They'd play it up to be some kind of tryst, a loco-fueled marathon in a seedy hotel somewhere. In reality, they'd know nothing of what Mac had shared with Shining back at Basic Training. Mac had aspirations of a life outside the farm before his parents died. In fact, one of his dreams since he was just a colt was to protect Princess Celestia herself by becoming a member of the Royal Guard. As soon as he hit the legal age of consent to join, he went to the recruiter's office after his last day of school...

The bell sounded loudly above his head as Macintosh bounded down the steps of the school house. He was lanky, his legs having outpaced the rest of his body while growing, waiting for his muscles to catch up. This sometimes caused the occasional trip over his own hooves, among other things. Although rare, his incidents were enough to earn him the nickname 'Tripintosh.'

He had a few friends in school, but they were mostly just acquaintances. Ponies whose names he knew, but very little else. One of the closest ponies to him was a mare named Cheerilee, a magenta pony with a creamy pink mane and three smiling flowers for a cutie mark. Mac didn't say much, but she did most of the talking for him. Unlike some of the other mares, she was always nice to him. Looking back on it, she was probably the closest thing he'd ever had to a true friend. Well, before Shining.

Mac's inherent shyness prevented him from doing the kinds of things most colts his age needed to form social bonds with others in their class. Things like after school play, sleepovers, camping trips and the like were all lost on the lanky red colt from the farm at the edge of town. He didn't have too many friends to speak of, mainly because he didn't speak. Most of the time, he was content to listen—a trait that would serve him well later with mares, but didn't do much to prevent his classmates from seeing him as the 'weird quiet kid that hung out with Cheerilee.'

As Mac made it to the edge of the steps, he prepared to gallop down to the Royal Guard recruiting station before a familiar voice stopped him. "Macintosh, where are you going in such a hurry?"

Mac turned to see Cheerilee standing behind him, her school books in her saddlebags and her teeth hidden behind braces as she smiled at him.

"Ah'm goin' to the Royal Guard post in town ta sign up for guard trainin'," he said as cheerfully as she'd ever heard him before.

Expecting her to be happy, he beamed at her. Instead of encouragement and praise, he noticed her expression drop. She even looked a bit stunned. Truth be told, he had never told her of his aspirations, but then again, she had never asked.

"Oh." She paused. "I guess you'll be gone for a while if you do that, huh?" she asked, though Mac couldn't guess why she'd care at the time. Looking back, the answer was obvious, but he was just a young colt with a dream on his mind.

"Ah s'pose," he replied, shifting slightly on his hooves. He only had an hour to get to the recruiting office before it closed for the day!

"Well, be careful," she sighed, looking into his eyes with something Mac would later come to recognize as fear for his safety. "Being a guard can be dangerous."

"Don't worry about me, they'll make sure Ah know how to take care of myself," he assured her, completely oblivious to how serious she was about him being careful. There hadn't been a military action in Equestria for over a thousand years, but facts have very little effect on the worried female mind.

"Okay..." she muttered softly, staring down at her hooves as she pawed the ground. "Good luck, and please don't hurt yourself, alright?"

"Ah promise, the next time you see me, I'll be wearin' fancy armor and guardin' a princess!" he answered proudly, his chest puffed out. "Bye Cheerilee!"

He set off into town at full speed, hoping his talk hadn't cost him too much time. He wasn't sure how many colts from his graduating class would be trying to sign up, but he wanted to make sure he got a spot. A small smile grew into an outright grin as he got closer, sure that all he'd have to do was sign a few papers and he'd be on his way to becoming a guard!

Finally ponies would respect him and not call him any dumb nicknames or make stupid jokes about his height. As he rounded the corner to the recruiters office, he was happy to find only a short line.

Mac waited patiently as the line moved steadily, yet agonizingly slow. By the time he was in the building, he lamented the fact that the line was still about ten ponies long. Relieved that he'd made it before they closed down, he reveled in the fact that he was taking the first step to becoming a Royal Guard. While he waited, he took in all of the recruiting posters adorning the walls. Stylized images of square-jawed stallions, looking majestically into the distance with a stern expression about them and a red flag with the sun on it painting the background. Above the stallion was the word 'Glory' in gold and below him, 'Honor.'

As he crept closer to the recruiter's desk, the posters began to change. Some were older, from the time of the tensions with the griffons, all the way back to an antique poster from the fight against Nightmare Moon, written in the dead Equestrian language of Marelic. The Royal Guard was almost an old an institution as the monarchy itself, and to be accepted was to become a part of the pride of thousands of years of struggle and sacrifice. Some posters portrayed stallions in armor driving a spear into the heart of a fierce dragon, with words like 'Valor' and 'Justice' splayed across them. Another had Princess Celestia pointing a hoof at the reader, the words 'We want you!" across the top and "To enlist with the Royal Guard today!" across the bottom.

Mac couldn't wait. The posters and the overall pride of finally setting hoof in the same office former commanders and generals had signed up in welled up inside him, refusing to let his grin retreat. Finally his somewhat aimless prospects of dreary farm work day in and day out would be replaced by marching in parades, wearing armor, protecting royalty and providing a role model for his younger sister Applejack, and soon to be youngest sister, still in his mother's belly.

Before he knew it, there was only one pony ahead of him. He was nearly giddy (well, as giddy as a pony like Mac could be) as he stood before the recruiter's desk, a large, dark wood piece with various accolades and awards on it as well as a hefty stack of paperwork.

"Name?" he asked, snapping Macintosh out of his trance.

"Macintosh Apple," he replied, his voice cracking embarrassingly as he cleared his throat. The recruiter couldn't help but smile.

"You sure you're eighteen, son?"

Mac's grin disappeared. Of course he was of age! He'd waited years for this moment! "Yes sir, Ah'm eighteen," he said in a voice much lower than his normal tone, trying to keep his voice from cracking again.

"I know, I've seen you around," the recruiter teased. "Any medical issues, maladies or problems?"

"No sir," Mac answered positively. Yes or no questions were his favorites.

"Sign here, here, initial here," he said, sliding a pen and parchment across his desk.

Mac beheld the ticket to his destiny as it slid toward him. The royal seal was embossed at the top and bottom, and the flowery first letter of the document.

Mac smiled down at it as he took the pen in his mouth, still feeling a little bit jittery about actually making a commitment he'd been thinking about for a few years now. His signature came out sloppier than usual, though his nerves were most likely the culprit.

The stallion behind the desk collected his paper and checked over it. After a nod, Mac was directed toward another room down the hall where yet more stallions waited in line. From listening to hushed whispers, he gathered this was the line for a brief medical exam. Before he knew it, he was next in line behind the white door with a red cross on the front. The colt who'd gone in before him stepped out, the doctor beckoning him inside.

"Have a seat." He gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Macintosh Apple, is it?"

The doctor was an older stallion. Perhaps his light red coat peppered with spots of gray once shone like Mac's did now. Mac nodded in response. Silence had served him well thus far, best not to test success.

"Alright, let's have a look at you shall we?" he said, pursing his lips and rising from behind his desk. He trotted around to Macintosh, who had already stood up. As he began his walk around, Mac could feel his skin begin to rise into goosebumps. The feeling of the doctor's eyes scanning over every inch of him as though her were livestock in a contest at the county fair unnerved the normally rock-solid young colt. The doctor made his way to Mac's left side, before diving his head beneath his stomach, getting a look at his nethers.

Before Mac could protest, he felt a hoof cradling two very sensitive objects underneath him. "Cough please, Cadet Apple."

Mac was so enamored with the thought of being a 'cadet' that he completely forgot somepony was waiting on him to perform an action. A gentle reminder garnered all the coughing the doctor could have wanted.

Returning from beneath him, the doctor sat down behind his desk once more, taking in his magic a pen and scribbling some notes and a signature on a medical form. "Well, I see no reason to keep you here, son," he sighed. Mac figured he was at least the twentieth patient he's seen today, so the doctor's lack of enthusiasm was forgiven. He stamped a date in red ink on two separate pieces of paper, handing one to Mac. "This is the date you report to processing. After that, you'll go straight to basic."

Mac beamed from ear to ear, taking a moment to admire his ticket into the Royal Guard before gently placing it into his saddlebag. Maybe his mother and father would frame it! Mac could just see it now: the pride on his father's face, the happiness on his mother and grandmother's faces as they heard the news their boy was going to make something of himself! He couldn't wait to tell his parents what he had done.

The cooling breeze briefly misplaced Mac's mind. The rolling hills of the orchard he and his sister had broken their backs to keep in business stretched out before him. He had a lot to be proud of, and a lot he could take stock in. However, the roads not traveled always had a most curious ability to provoke regret, even when you were certain the road you had taken had been the best one for you and your family at the time. Mac knew he made the right choice, he knew what was on the line when he had come to his decision.

And yet... there were still unresolved feelings he had been successful in burying beneath layers and layers of hard labor day in and day out.

Most of these feelings were due to one of two factors: one being the life he could have had as a servant of the princesses, and the other being the strange and confusing emotions evoked by a certain stallion he'd met at his time in basic training.

His father wasn't as receptive as he'd hoped. In fact, his father destroyed the paper with his ship out date as soon as he'd shown it to him. Not that it mattered, Mac had the date memorized, and his father had only destroyed a copy—A copy he thought would make him proud, but a copy nonetheless. He was actually counting on his mother not to support his decision, but in fact, she was his biggest proponent.

"No colt of mine is going to abandon his family!" Mac's father roared, sending the scraps of paper he'd just shredded fluttering to the ground in front of Macintosh. Mac simply held a glare as he followed his dad's pacing and intermittent shouts.

"Red, he isn't abandoning his family and you know it!" his mother Gala shot back in Mac's defense. Talking back to your elders was a big taboo in the Apple house.

"He's leaving the farm! The farm he knows needs him!"

Gala stepped in front of her husband, stopping his pacing. "He's got dreams, Red. Your dream is this farm, that don't mean his has to be too!"

"Dreams? Dreams are for sleepin'!" he argued, glancing back at the still upset looking Macintosh. "You better get that look off your face, boy!"

"Red, that's enough!" his mother demanded. "If you can't maintain a civil tone, take yourself outside!"

He looked at his wife, then his son, and turned on his heel to leave. Once he was safely out of earshot, Mac's mother sat down beside him on their couch. "Ah'm sorry your father got so upset at you." She put a comforting hoof around Mac's shoulder. "You know how he gets when harvest time gets close."

"You don't think Ah'm abandonin' y'all, do you?" he asked, staring down at his hooves as his father's words began to sink in.

"No, sugarcube, of course not!" Gala said, giving her son a squeeze for emphasis. "You know your father just says things he doesn't mean when he gets irritated."

"Well, what if y'all need me for somethin' and Ah'm not here? What if Paw hurts himself? Or—"

A hoof rested over his lips as his mother shushed him. "No more of that. You let Paw, Granny and I worry about the farm. You're too young to be concernin' yourself with such business."

Gala glanced down at the shredded congratulatory letter the recruiter had given her son. "This paper wasn't important, was it?"

"Naw, Ah got the date memorized... Ah just thought Paw would want to do somethin' special with it, like frame it or somethin'. Guess I was wrong..."

"Don't you fret none sugarcube, Ma'll take care of this for ya."

She gathered the scraps and set them in a decorative box on the end table. She sat back down next to Macintosh, noting the lightening of his mood after Red had left. "Now, Ah don't mean to second-guess you, but are you sure this Royal Guard thing is what you want?"

Mac looked up from his hooves and into his mother's emerald green eyes. "Yeah, it is."

Gala smiled. "That's all Ah needed to hear," she said, getting up from the couch to start dinner. "Don't you worry about Paw, Ah'll get him to come around. In the meantime, we'll just hire a rancher or two ta help out with your chores."

Mac remembered that first fight. He also knew that he had picked a bad time to run off and join the Royal Guard. The beginning of harvest season was not the opportune time to be absent from the apple orchard. His Paw eventually came around, and even began writing Mac a few letters while he was in basic. He got letters from a lot of his extended family as well, every mail call there'd be more letters addressed to cadet Apple than anypony else. Speaking of family, one member in particular gave him more cause to reconsider than his mother and father combined...

A few days after the initial argument, Mac had retired to his room, still rather miffed that his father would react the way he did. After all, if the posters in the recruiters office were to be believed, joining the Royal Guard was every colt and father of said colt's dream! However, none of the problems here at the farm were of concern. Tomorrow he shipped off to medical processing and then basic training. He was less than twenty-four hours from beginning his life's journey, and he could hardly sleep.

Mac lit a candle and set it on his nightstand before removing a book from between his mattress and box spring. Ordinarily, a colt his age would have adult reading material hidden there, but Mac's stash was not pornography. Rather, military history. His pornography was hidden elsewhere. He'd been studying up on the history of the Royal Guard, having learned that basic also held school-style classes about such topics. Just as he was about to begin his nightly reading, a soft knock drew him from his studies.

"C'min" he grunted, expecting his father to appear, ready to apologize. Instead, a small orange filly with three apples on her flank nudged the door open with her muzzle.

"Big Mac, can Ah talk ta you?" she asked softly. Applejack was up way past her bedtime, and he knew the only time she'd visit him was if something was wrong. Normally that something was an accident in her bed, or perhaps a horrifying nightmare, but the look on her face suggested something a bit more... substantial.

"Sure darlin'," he said, sliding over on his bed to make room for her. The little filly made it halfway up the bed before needing help the rest of the way. Mac grabbed her under her forelegs and raised her to the mattress, getting a few giggles out of his younger sister in the process. He set her next to him as she leaned back against his chest. "Alright, what can Ah do for ya?"

The answer didn't come right away, which only troubled Mac further. "Well..." she began, keeping her vision focused on the lumps their hind legs created beneath the blanket. "Paw says you're leavin' the farm. Is that true?"

She looked up at him and he met her eyes flashing with concern. "Eeyup," he answered softly. That one word seemed enough to break a strong filly's demeanor.

"You-you are?" she gasped. He could tell she was looking for a different answer.

"Eeyup. Ah'm gonna be one of the Royal Guard." A sniffle echoed around his room as he hugged his sister close. "Hey now, Ah won't be gone forever," he consoled. "Ah'll be back in a few months."

"But Ah don't want you ta go for any months!" she pled, a bit of water shining in her eyes as she hugged as much of his waist as she could get her forelegs around.

"Ah know you don't, but... this is my dream, Applejack," he whispered to her, idly rubbing her back while she clung to him.

"How come you can't get a different dream?" she asked.

"It don't work that way."

"How d'you know?" She argued with the ferocity only a child could summon for their point, even if their point was dead wrong. "You ever try?"

"Nope, Ah never wanted a different one." He knew this wasn't the answer she wanted to hear, but the truth often times hurt.

"But how come you think it's okay to leave me and Maw and Paw and Granny?" she demanded.

"Ah'm not leavin' 'cause Ah want ta leave. Ah'm leavin' 'cause Ah have to!" he snapped, growing a bit frustrated. "This is the only way to become a Royal Guard, and that's what Ah'm doin'."

"B-but, what if somethin' happens here and we need you?" she whined, trying her best pleading eyes on her big brother, but to no avail. "What if Paw needs somepony ta buck apples with and you're not here?"

"Then Ah guess you're gonna have to buck apples with him, ain't ya?" he said smiling down at her. Applejack broke her gaze and stared back down at the end of the bed.

"Paw don't want me out there," she sighed, "Ah'm no good at buckin' apples..."

"Hush now, that's because you've never tried buckin' apples with my magic hat on," he said, leaning back and grabbing an old stetson he used to play 'sheriff' with when cousin Braeburn's family would visit.

"That hat ain't magic," she answered skeptically.

"Oh yes it is. You just ain't been wearin' it, so you wouldn't know."

"Nuh uh!" Applejack huffed. "Ah learned in school that only unicorns and the princesses can use magic, and we ain't no unicorns."

Mac whinnied, smiling at his sister as if he were in on a joke she was not privy to. "C'mon, ain't you ever heard of earth pony magic?"

Applejack laid her chin onto Mac's stomach, keeping her eyes fixated on him as she answered, "Earth ponies ain't got no magic!" she giggled. "Quit bein' a silly pony, Macintosh!"

"Ah ain't bein' no silly pony," Mac insisted, "How d'you think Paw manages to do all the work on the farm like he does?"

"'Cause you help him!"

"That, and because of earth pony magic. See how Ah wear my yoke, Paw wears his coveralls, and Maw and Granny wear their shawls?"

"Yeah..." she said slowly.

"Well, that's where the magic comes from."

Applejack raised an eyebrow, examining the dusty old hat still resting on her brother's hoof. "The magic comes from clothes?"

"Sure! Why do ya think only earth ponies wear clothes all the time?"

A look of contemplation fell over the youngest Apple sibling as she took the hat from her brother. "Ah guess Ah never thought of it that way before..."

"Eeyup," he said proudly, setting the hat atop Applejack's head, only to have it cover her face completely. "Remember, you gotta believe in this magic, or it won't work," he instructed, tipping the hat brim up so he could see his sister.

"Ah gotta believe?"

"That's right. You believe you can buck apples and help Paw while Ah'm gone, and by Celestia you'll be doin' it in no time!"

Applejack's face lit up in delight as she adjusted the hat to rest on her ears. "Really? Ah'm gonna try it tomorrow as soon as Ah get home from school!"

"That's the spirit!" Mac smiled, "Now go'n and get to bed. It's way too late for fillies to still be awake."

"Ah'm not a filly!" Applejack snapped indignantly, "Ah'm a big pony! Now give me a kiss goodnight!" she demanded, presenting her cheek.

Mac couldn't help but chuckle as he gave his sister a peck before getting one in return. She scurried off his bed, but stopped as she reached his door.

"Macintosh?"

"Yeah?"

"Ah'm gonna miss you when you leave..." she whispered. The laughs they had both shared earlier now seemed millions of years behind them.

"Ah know, Ah'll miss you too, Applejack."

She quickly shuffled back over to him and gave one last hug before leaving his room.

Mac blew out the candle, letting the darkness envelope his room. Sure, he'd miss his family while he was away, but he wasn't going to the moon! Basic didn't even last a whole year, and he knew he'd have time off once he was a newly minted guard. Maybe he'd even live in Canterlot! The possibilities swirled around in his head as he finally managed to drift to sleep.

Mac rested his head on his forelegs as he lay down, enjoying the breeze sweeping through the orchards.

The day he left for basic was nothing special. His sister and mother were teary eyed, but his father and Granny were more or less the same. His father even hugged him goodbye as he went. Though he didn't come right out and say it, Mac figured he was proud of his son for choosing his own path in life. From the farm, he walked to the recruiting office where a few other colts sat outside, waiting for the bus to take them to the medical center.

He recognized a few faces from his class, but not many, and none he knew well enough to strike up a conversation with. Although, that wasn't something he was likely to do anyway.

The medical evaluation went smoothly, as did the night after his exam. The very next morning, he was set to arrive at Fort Luna and begin his training to become an elite member of the Equestrian uniformed services. It was also the day he'd meet the colt that would change his outlook on life.

Macintosh hustled off the bus at the shouted commands of his drill instructors with the rest of the colts from Ponyville. Buses from all around Equestria began arriving. Some from as far away as Hoofington and even Canterlot. Standing perfectly still in line, he waited his turn to receive his first bit of government issued apparel: a high-and-tight manecut. The next was a set of metal tags on a chain. On the tags were the date they'd been made, the name, blood type and soldier number. The stallion working the pressing machine informed Mac in no uncertain terms that these tags were to be on him at all times. Should he ever be found without them, the punishment would be most unpleasant.

As an example, the stallion held his tags out from around his neck. "See that?" he asked.

Mac nodded.

"I got this forty years ago when I joined up," he said proudly. "You'd do well to hang on to yours. Right now, you get one. When you graduate, you get the other." Mac nodded, donned his single tag and moved on.

Every recruit looked the same after their visit to the barber.

An old, gruff looking stallion with tattoos covering his forelegs paced back and forth in front of the motionless block of colts.

"All of you are from different places around this great land of ours. As such, you may think you'll be sticking with the others from your town," he began, his voice booming, even outside the barracks where he had assembled the new cadets. "Well, you're wrong!"

He strode up to the first colt in each line. He began shuffling the stallions into different groups until any familiar faces Mac may have had to befriend were gone, replaced with new ones from far away cities.

"Now then, the colts around you will be your brothers for the next six months. It will not be easy, and a lot of you won't make it!" he howled, still pacing back and forth between his company-sized blocks of colts. "I am Sergeant Castille, and I am your Princess Celestia. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sergeant!" the recruits responded in deafening unison.

"Very good," he mused examining each colt unlucky enough to be at the front of the line closely. "You all may not be the dumbest bunch of misfits I've ever had stumble through my gate. You will not laugh, you will not cry, you will not eat, sleep, or shit without permission from me or my subordinates, is that clear?"

"Yes sergeant!"

"Good." He walked to the end of the formation and stopped in front of them. "Collectively, you are Hydra Battalion, but for the next six months you will be broken up into platoons. First platoon..." He pointed to the first group of cadets before moving down the line to repeat the process. Mac ended up in third platoon.

If Mac took anything away from that first day, it was that standing was going to be required a lot of the time. Not that it bothered him, but it was still aggravating to stand in the hot sun while watching the other platoons farther along than his actually get to do the things he had signed up to do. After the first day, it was up to the cadets to choose their own bunks. Mac wasn't much for arguing with anypony, so he chose a corner that was out of the way and less likely to draw attention if he claimed it. He trotted over and sat down on the single sheet bed.

It certainly wasn't any substitute for his bed at home, but he'd slept on worse. Just as Mac was feeling out the lumps in the mattress, a shadow blocked the light from above him.

"Like the bottom bunk, eh?"

Startled, Mac's head shot up, causing him to knock against the metal frame with a resounding ping.

"Ah, uh... it ain't taken already is it?" he asked cautiously.

"Nope." The stallion hanging halfway off the top bunk yawned. It was nearly lights out, and Mac caught his yawn as soon as he noticed the act. "I'm Shining Armor, by the way. Guess we're bunk mates, huh?"

Mac nodded. This colt seemed pretty friendly, and he actually initiated the conversation—something his classmates rarely did with the exception of Cheerilee.

"Ah S'pose so. Macintosh Apple, pleased ta meet ya."

They bumped hooves as Mac laid back against his bed, propping up his head on his forelegs. Since they all looked more or less the same, Mac couldn't tell what color mane his new friend had, but his eyes were a sharp blue he'd recognize anywhere. That, and the rather sizable horn above his eyes.

"Ah don't think Ah've ever met a unicorn before," Mac commented, Shining still leaning over his bunk.

"Seriously? Where're you from, pal?"

"Ponyville," Mac replied, another yawn escaping his lips.

"Never heard of it," Shining said, retreating back to his bunk.

"How bout you?" Mac asked.

"My family and I live in Canterlot. My folks are really close to some important ponies or something." His voice reached easily through the background noise of the barracks. "I wasn't into all that high-society junk. This is what I've always wanted to do."

Mac nodded again. "Same here. Ah've wanted to be a Royal Guard for a while now."

"I've heard it isn't easy. Half the class will probably drop out," he said with a grimace.

"Ah've heard the same," Mac answered, rubbing the bump on his head before settling in his bunk. "Ah've heard as long as you do what you're told, you'll make it."

Shining smiled, "We can only hope," he said confidently, just as Sergeant Castille killed the lights.

"Light's out ladies! You've got a full day tomorrow!" he shouted as the conversations died down and the other stallions returned to their bunks in the dark. Some obscenities echoed in the darkness as hooves got stubbed on hoof-lockers and the metal of the bed frames.

Once the noise died, Mac stared blankly at the springs of Shining's mattress above him. He assumed he'd be too excited to sleep, yet a fitting calm permeated the air in the barracks of his first night. The confusion of their first few minutes had now given way to what he guessed would be the routine from here on out: morning run, physical training, breakfast, more running, more physical training, lunch, more physical training, more running, evening classes, and dinner.

Structure was something Mac was quite used to out on the farm, and he knew the benefits a well structured day of work would bring. Closing his eyes, he began to drift off to sleep, confident that if his first day was any indication, he'd have exactly what it took to make it in the Royal Guards. Heck, he may even be the captain one day!

His calming thought's were shattered into a thousand pieces as his real training began with a very loud Boom.

Act II

An alarm roared as the vibrations from whatever had caused the explosion rumbled through the barracks. Everypony was now awake and looking around at each other for confirmation that they'd heard the same thing. Soon, shouting was audible from outside as a few stallions hopped from their bunks and checked the windows. No sooner had they made it to the pane did the Sergeant burst through the door.

"We're under attack!" he shouted, the sweat dripping from his face evident even in the dim moonlight. Mac knew he wasn't the only pony whose heart dropped into their stomach at that moment. Without warning, the roof of the barracks went flying into the night sky as a hydra being controlled by a mounted griffon rider tore into it. "Follow me to the armory if you want to live!"

Mac sprang out of bed, nearly having Shining land on top of him as they scrambled for the door with the other recruits. His mind was still clouded from nearly making it to sleep, and his hooves led him clumsily toward the doorway. Once outside, the neat, tidy and organized military base was in chaos.

Earth and pegasi ponies with spears and iron shoes and unicorns with bow and arrow fired into wave after wave of advancing griffons as they rained from the sky. Various buildings burned behind them as they sprinted behind their Sergeant to the somehow still intact armory. As Mac ran past various battles being fought, he noticed some of the garrison had smiles on their faces as they plunged their weapons mercilessly into the invaders.

Mac could hardly imagine killing with a smile, though perhaps that was something they'd learned to do. He'd often read about how muscle memory and simple reflex play a key role in deciding the victor in battle. He thought that perhaps the soldiers were simply on autopilot, doing as they were trained and nothing more.

After a sprint through the fog of war, Hydra battalion arrived at the armory door, where a gruff looking unicorn with an eyepatch began giving weapons to the shivering and scared witless young recruits. Earth ponies seemed to get shoes that covered the first few inches of their hooves, though they were made of iron, and spiked. These were fitted on their forelegs and hind legs, while pegasi were outfitted with spear launchers, sewn into a special vest they wore. This vest positioned the spears safely under their wings for concealment, and fired via a lifting of one or both wings. Unicorn's were given a bow and arrow quiver, and expected to use them via magic.

Mac was right behind Shining as they got their weapons. Once weaponized, the frightened group of stallions assembled loosely in front of their Sergeant. Even as chaos reigned around him, Castille was a rock of a pony; no deafening bomb or arrow whizzing by broke his concentration. "Recruits! This is your first test!" he shouted, affixing his armor and readying his weapon. "Do you see what's on that hill?" he asked, pointing to the looming mountain above the camp. "That is Canterlot Castle, this installation is the last stop before these bastards get to the capital! I don't know how they got this far, but here is where they stop! Understood?"

"Yes, Sergeant!" As many as were able responded. Some stallions wept at the thought of death, others stayed stoically silent, and still others appeared giddy as foals, ready for their first taste of combat. Mac and Shining were in the middle category, though outward calm belied their nerves.

"Good. Now, as long as you follow my orders, you'll all be—Ack!" An arrow flew straight into a gap in their commander's armor, toppling him almost instantly. Mac could see the horror on his squadmates' faces, and he was sure the same expression was plastered on his as well. After a bit of gurgling, Castille lay dead in front of his stallions. The entire battalion simply waited for a few moments before beginning to scatter.

Mac and Shining stayed and watched their 'brothers' either run to hide or run into battle. They glanced at each other before Mac asked: "What now?"

Shining smiled. "We fight!"

Macintosh grinned as he replayed the memory of that night in his head. Only afterward would he realize why the other commissioned guards seemed to be smiling as they ended the lives of countless enemies. It was honestly a very ingenious way to root out the weak, or those who would fold under pressure. He and Shining had made the right choice in charging into battle, though he knew Applejack would have killed him if it had been an actual life and death situation.

During that hectic fight, he recalled the first time he 'saved' Shining's hide.

Mac had never been in a fight, let alone a battle against a trained army. That didn't stop him, as he was prepared to make any sacrifice necessary to reach his goal. If that meant standing atop a pile of slain griffons who foolishly attempted to reach the princesses, then so be it. The griffon army was not just staffed with griffons. They had war hydras, battle ursas, and the commanders even rode dragons! The grunts, however, had light armor and crude spears. Mac and Shining joined up with a group that had jumped into the fray. The unicorns began showering their enemies with arrows while the pegasi took carefully aimed spear shots. Once their ammo had been exhausted, it was the earth ponies' time. Mac charged with a few of his like-minded brethren into the weakened and wounded brigade of griffons squaring off against them.

Ignoring the wounded and dying, Mac focused on those still alive enough to pose a threat.

Okay, it's probably just like applebuckin', he reasoned. 'Cept it ain't a tree. It's a skull.

Mac leapt into the air, his spiked forelegs smashing into a griffon's face, sending his helmet flying and its owner sprawling to the ground. Mac looked at the crimson line draining away from the motionless attacker. Every muscle in his body froze up as he contemplated the life he'd ended at the worst possible moment. As he tore his eyes away, the scene before him seemed to be muted, moving slower than he was used to. Spears jabbed into enemies; ponies attacked from all sides, while others cowered in any hole they could find. Mac knew he had signed up for this very moment, but was having trouble grasping having it thrust upon him so soon. At a glance, Mac noticed Shining, using a small sword he'd looted off a dead attacker to battle a particularly large griffon.

Unknown to Shining, a hydra rider had decided to assist his comrade in the fight. The beast slithered up behind Shining, just as he appeared to be gaining the upper hoof. The mighty hydra lifted its foot, ready to smash him into a red puddle. Before Mac knew it, he was dashing toward him, screaming for him to look behind him and knowing he could only save his life if he reached him in time.

By the time the crushing foot of death was nearly upon him, Mac was a few steps away. He knew he'd be cutting it close, but Shining was by and large the only friend he had made outside of his family and Cheerilee. He'd be damned if he let the first friend he made in basic training get smushed by a hydra.

Extending his forelegs, Mac tacked Shining around the waist and they both ended up tumbling in the dirt, just as the hydra crushed the spot they had been only milliseconds earlier.

Since Shining had no idea he was about to be a grease stain on the dirt, he began fighting Mac as though he were an enemy before he realized what had happened.

"What was that about, Mac?" he complained, dusting himself off. "I was about to beat that guy!"

"You were... about... to be... squished," Mac panted. As they stood beside each other, they noticed the chaotic noise of combat suddenly cease. They looked around, noting that the enemies they'd been fighting were slowly dissolving away in the wind, as if they weren't really there at all.

From his crumpled form, Sergeant Castille got up, dusted himself off and began stripping off his armor.

"Alright ladies, assemble on me!" he commanded, though many recruits looked as though they'd seen a ghost. Mac and Shining included. "Let's go!" he demanded.

After regaining their wits, those in hiding, and those who'd fought crowded around their leader. It was then that Mac noticed he had streaks of paint all over him, as did nearly everypony else in his battalion, even Shining.

"Now, as you may have noticed, I'm still alive," Castille began, pacing in front of his troops. "That's because this was just a drill: a spell cast by our psychological warfare corps. Gentlecolts?" he motioned to innocuous looking piles of debris, which were simply unicorns hiding beneath blankets made to look like rubble piles. "What you have just experienced was the best combat training scenario we can create. If this were a real combat situation, most of you would be getting wrapped in an Equestrian flag right now!" he bellowed, pointing to a splotch of red paint where the 'arrow' had pierced his armor.

"The paint covering you all is an indicator of where you would have taken a hit, and how badly it would have affected your performance on the battlefield," he began to explain. "Red means your ass is dead. Orange is a serious injury, but likely survivable. Green is just a flesh-wound."

Mac examined himself, only to find a bright red crescent across his neck. He glanced over at Shining, who had also taken an interest in Mac's wounds.

"Dang Mac, you got killed!" he whispered as Mac checked Shining over.

"You didn't get out scot-free either," he replied, pointing to the orange lines across both forelegs and numerous green and orange lines across his body.

"Hey, they can make me new legs; they can't make you a new head," he teased, earning a grin from Macintosh.

"Now then," Castille continued. "Those of you too rattled to continue, you can quit now. The guard corp is not for everypony, and there is no shame in realizing this. In the morning, you may leave if you wish. Those of you who decide to stay, know that from now on, the only easy day was yesterday. Understand?"

"Yes, Sergeant!"

"Good, now get some sleep," he ordered. "Dismissed!"

Mac and Shining made their way back to their barracks, which sat untouched by the simulated attack. For the precious few hours left of the night, they slept like rocks.

That first night was the start of Mac and Shining's relationship. At its outset, Mac had no idea where this road would lead. However, one of the reasons he'd joined the Royal Guards was to spice up his rather mundane life, and making new friends was part of the experience. From that night on, whenever partners were chosen or assigned, Mac always tried to ensure he was in Shining's group and vice versa. For their valor (or foolhardiness) during the simulated attack, the two stallions were made platoon leaders. Mac and Shining always recapped the days events to each other, each night after a long day of drills, exercises and routine. Laughter at the slip-ups of their subordinates and impressions of their instructors kept their friendship close.

Since each of them led their own platoon, they rarely saw each other during the day outside of the mess line. Even so, they managed to become closer to each other as the days went by. The more they learned about each other, the more similarities they found. Both had little sisters, both had families they hoped to make proud, and both wanted to protect the princesses and serve Equestria.

Mac shifted against the breeze, still keeping his idle gaze out across the fields. The first weeks of training were a blend of the same thing over and over again. Once he thought they were ready, Sergeant Castille decided it was time for their survival training to begin. Mac and Shining's platoon had decided to stick close and share resources. Sergeant Castille was adamant about the fact that there would be no resupply until the two weeks in the uncharted wilderness outside Fort Luna were up. Hence the term 'survival training.' Any manner of dangerous wildlife would have to be dealt with, and as such, each stallion was issued their race's weaponry and armor.

Mac recalled those two weeks vividly, as it was during that time that he and Shining had gotten separated from their platoons and lost in the woods. It was then that they'd discover more about each other than either would have guessed possible upon their first encounter.

As the weeks wore on, Hydra battalion had been granted privileges for progressing in their training. A few days to leave the base, and occasionally the ability to order take-out instead of eating military food (as long as something was picked up for the Sergeant, of course). Before the operation, Castille assembled his stallions in the briefing room.

"Alright mares, this task is nothing like anything you've done thus far." He pointed at a map hanging behind him marked with dotted lines, and numerous X's. "As in, there will be no resupply, no safety net, and no backup during this drill. For all intents and purposes, this is a live drill. You will be given weapons and be expected to use them only if you are threatened by hostile wildlife. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sergeant!"

"Now, Hydra battalion, your platoons will dropped into enemy held territory and you are expected to survive and evade capture for one week's time. Any stallions left in the wilderness by the end of the scenario will earn a weekend pass to travel off base for their platoon." Most of the cadets didn't seem to react to his offer. Barring a major screw-up, most of Hydra battalion was allowed to leave the base on the weekends after drill. "Without a curfew," he completed, sending murmurs of excitement through the assembled troops.

The hushed conversations quickly quieted down, lest Castille run the battalion until he got tired. "Your enemy is Ursa battalion from Fort Celestia. They will be hunting you like animals, and you will be doing the same for them the following week," he explained, the sound of his hooves pacing across the floor echoing in the quiet auditorium. "So help me, if those jokers from Fort Celestia capture more of you than you capture of them, you're going to wish this was an actual combat situation, because you'd be better off in a P.O.W. camp than you would being returned to me! Understand?"

"Yes, Sergeant!"

"Good. Eat well tonight; it'll be a long time before you see the inside of my mess hall again. Dismissed."

Mac and Shining sat next to each other while their subordinates sat in the row below them. The operation was set to begin after dinner. The various platoons were to be dropped off in the middle of the woods with nothing but a map, compass, rations and weapons. Their training up until this point was more than enough to ensure everypony's survival, but training and nerves can often cancel each other out.

"Ready to head out into 'enemy territory'?" Shining smirked.

"Ah s'pose. Hope your squad of misfits is up to it," Mac replied with a sly grin.

"Don't worry about us. First platoon'll still be in the deep while your lot is sitting behind a barbed wire fence," Shining said smugly, and with good reason. His platoon led the battalion in academics and marksmanship. Mac's platoon was in second, but only because of a few missed shots and flubbed tests.

"Well then, why don't we make it interestin'?" Mac suggested as the other recruits began filing out of the auditorium.

Shining raised an eyebrow. "A wager, huh? Sounds fun. What's the winner get?"

Mac put a hoof to his chin in thought. "Hmm... well, we both got sisters, right?"

"Yeah..." Shining answered slowly, narrowing his eyes at Mac.

"How about a date? Winner gets ta take the loser's sister out." Mac smiled, knowing his sister would be safe. She was only a filly, after all.

Shining grinned. "Deal. How old is your sister by the way?" he asked.

"Seven, and my Ma just had another one." Mac smiled cheekily. "And yours?"

"Eight," Shining replied.

They both caught a laugh as they began to head towards the mess hall. "Ah guess that wager's pretty much shot," Mac chuckled.

"You said it. I guess it'll just be for pride then, won't it?"

"That's fine with me. I don't mind braggin' rights," Mac said as they entered the mess hall, the smell of mediocre military food greeting them as they walked in.

After dinner, they met Sergeant Castille at the armory. Once everypony had suited up, they began applying their camouflage. Once prepped for woodland survival, they were led into the wilderness via pegasus. Once the rally point had been reached, their guides took off, leaving the platoons to fend for themselves. A report of a canon would signal the start of the exercise.

A boom echoed across the woods, scaring birds from their trees as the drill began in earnest. Mac led his stallions through a bit of dense underbrush in search of a nearby stream on his map. Proximity to water was key to survival, so he figured the best place to set up an ambush would be near a ready supply of it. After all, enemy armies need water too, and to capture an enemy squad while playing defense would certainly put Mac in good standing with Sergeant Castille.

After about an hour of marching through the forest, Mac stopped his troops, crouching silently in the overgrowth. Through the moonlight, they could see a platoon of stallions making their way down a trail. Mac couldn't believe anypony would be dumb enough to use a marked trail during a drill like this. He couldn't quite make out the insignia on the armor, but he knew if he sprung his trap on friendlies, it would simply result in a good laugh, and no casualties. Using hoof signals, Mac's stallions took their positions and waited for his signal. Just as Mac was about to rise from the bushes, something cold pressed against the side of his neck.

"Gotcha."

He carefully turned his head in time to see Shining standing behind him, a small dagger in his magic. Mac breathed a sigh of relief before looking at the 'ponies' he was about to ambush. They were nothing but straw dummies dressed up to look like guards. Shining was clever—Mac had to give him that.

"You guys weren't exactly what we were looking to catch, though," Shining laughed as the platoons stood from their positions and met in the forest.

"Ah see we both were tryin' ta catch one of the enemy platoons," Mac replied.

"Well, you know what they say about great minds," Shining quipped.

"Yeah, Ah suppose we—" Mac was interrupted by the ground shuddering beneath them. Almost rhythmically, the shaking began to grow.

"You don't suppose Fort Celestia has battle Ursas, do ya?" Mac asked as the trees in the distance began to shake. Fear gripped every heart as a massive ursa major pushed over the massive trees as though they were weeds blocking its path.

Mac wasn't sure who gave the command, but when somepony screams 'run' when something like that emerges, it's best to just do it and think about it later.

The two platoons took off, the massive animal in hot pursuit. As they sprinted, Mac knew in the back of his mind that they'd tire out before the ursa did. Since he and his squad weren't looking to become snacks, he shouted to Shining who had been keeping pace beside him.

"Shining! That thing's gonna eat us if we keep runnin' with the group!" Mac panted as he galloped. "We need to draw this thing away from them!"

Shining nodded. "Okay, follow me!"

Mac and Shining broke off from the rest of the platoon, the ursa taking the bait as they'd hoped.

"Well, it's following us! Now what?" Shining asked through his full sprint. Mac could feel his legs beginning to weaken, though he didn't dare slow down.

Mac looked ahead. They were running out of forest. In front of him was a large cliff, and he didn't have to speculate how far down it went.

"I've got an idea!" Shining said confidently.

"What is it?" Mac asked as they both approached the cliff.

"Run off the cliff!" Shining barked.

"What?!"

"Trust me, Mac! You'll be okay, I promise!" he assured him as he peeled off, leaving the massive beast dead set on eating Macintosh as he neared the sheer drop.

He looked at the incoming edge, then back to the hungry animal behind him. Well, it's either get eaten or fall to my death! he thought, his hooves making his decision on his demise for him. Mac shut his eyes as his forelegs took the final step off the edge of the cliff... only to have the feeling of solid ground still beneath his hooves! He took a few more cautious steps before peeking one eye open and looking at his hooves. In retrospect, he's wish he hadn't.

He was floating above what seemed like a mile fall, his whole body consumed in Shining's magic. The ursa behind him tried to skid to a halt, but ended up taking the plunge into the river far below. As Mac caught his breath, he looked toward the heavenly looking solid ground his partner was standing on. "See? I told ya you'd be okay!" Mac sighed in relief as Shining brought him back over land.

"That... was a... right smart plan..." he panted as Shining took a moment to let the adrenaline wear off.

"Yeah, it was!" he shouted triumphantly. "We should get medals for that!"

"Agreed," Mac added, taking a sip of his canteen. "You still got your map and compass?"

Shining checked his gear. "Nope, looks like I left them with my navigator. You?"

"So did Ah," he mumbled.

After a few moments, Shining broke the uncomfortable silence. "Well, now what?"

"Ah guess we survive."

Mac and Shining shared a laugh before trekking back into the woods, careful to avoid enemy soldiers and any more hungry animals.

It would be dark soon, and Mac knew he should start heading back to the farmhouse if he wanted to get a good night's rest.

Yet... he very rarely got to appreciate the sunset. Even more rare was the chance to enjoy it without anypony pestering him about something needing to get done. It was a good opportunity to enjoy the quiet, something Mac was quite fond of. As his eyelids grew heavy with the approach of the setting sun, he recalled the evening he and Shining spent in a cave they'd found after being chased into Celestia-knows-where by the ursa they were running from. It was the cave that would bring them closer than either thought possible.

Macintosh and Shining had just outrun an ursa major, and had managed to get away unharmed. Unfortunately, the forest had many dangerous animals to throw at them. They made it through hydra, windigo, and cockatrice swarms before coming across a cave that seemed devoid of threatening wildlife.

Mac had injured his leg rescuing Shining from becoming a statue, and Shining had sustained a rather nasty horn-bruise keeping a herd of wendigos from devouring Mac after he'd mistakenly ventured into a pack's den. Shining had Mac's injured leg around his shoulders as he helped him limp into their new home.

The two injured ponies finally relaxed as they flopped onto the cold stone ground of the dank cave. Their armor clanging against the stone as they removed it. The ground was a welcome relief from the heat they'd been feeling from running for their lives.

Once they'd finally collapsed onto the cold stone floor, they caught their breath.

"Sweet Celestia, Mac," Shining whined. "You eating your platoon's meals for them?"

"Very funny," he grunted, attempting to stand on his three working legs.

"Don't test that ankle Mac, I'm telling you it's—"

Crack

"... broken."

"Gah! Celestia-rutting-Luna-on-the-moon, that hurt!" Mac hissed, gingerly cradling his now useless appendage as he crumpled back onto the cold floor.

"What did I tell you?" Shining scolded, trotting over to take a look at Mac's injury. Digging into his supplies, he found a few magic powered glow sticks. A touch of the horn and they were lit, casting an eerie green glow across the rocks of the cavern.

"At least we're alone in here," Shining said, casting a glance back to the wall. The cave was not very deep, and a collection of heavy boulders at the back of the cave suggested it had once gone much farther. "Let me see."

Mac held his hoof out slowly. Any jostle or movement would send another bolt of pain through his limbs. Shining held his temporary light near Mac's hoof.

"Hm," he mumbled, looking over the swollen hoof. "Well if it wasn't broken before, it may be now."

"Thanks, doc," Mac muttered.

"I told you not to stand on it, didn't I?" he quipped smugly.

"Yeah, yeah, enough about that," Mac insisted. "How're we gonna get back to Fort Luna if I'm crippled and you can't use your magic?"

"Who said I can't use my magic?" Shining asked indignantly.

"The welt on your horn," Mac replied flatly.

"Pfft, I can still use magic," Shining said confidently.

"S'at right?" Mac smiled. "Then how bout you pick up this here rock for me."

Shining glared at Mac, then at the rock. It was about the size of an egg. Only a challenge for a foal, really. Shining scrunched his face in concentration, his aura surrounding the rock, only to have it fizzle out. Shining held a hoof to his head, but quickly withdrew it.

"You were sayin'?" Mac asked as he drew his good hoof lazily across the ground.

"I don't have to prove anything to you!" he snapped quickly. "I'm going to catch some fireflies," he huffed, "with my magic."

"Ah'll be here..." Mac yawned, digging into his own provisions with his good hoof and fishing out the first aid kit.

After about two hours, Shining decided to reappear, the lantern he had left with providing a paltry amount of light via the two fireflies he managed to capture.

"That's quite the night light," Mac said.

"And I suppose you can do better?" Shining asked sourly.

Mac grinned. "Put a bit of your honey ration in the bottom the lantern and open it."

Shining looked at him as though he had lost his mind. He wasn't about to let his two insect prisoners escape! He'd spent two hours just catching them!

"Are you nuts?"

"Nope, but Ah know a farmin' trick or two. You city folk could learn somethin'."

Shining glanced at the dim lantern, then back toward Mac's silhouette before opening the lantern and setting his hostages free.

"Just a little honey'll do ya, we don't need to attract the whole forest."

In about thirty minutes, the lantern was filled with fireflies, illuminating the entirety of the cave. Shining closed the lantern and set it between the two of them, Mac smiling as he rolled onto his side.

"Not a bad splint," Shining said, noticing the bandages on Mac's leg.

"I had a long time to work on it," he teased.

Shining grunted as he rifled through his gear and unrolled his sleeping bag. Just before he got settled in, he noticed Mac having some trouble managing his sleeping arrangement with only one hoof.

He trotted over, lending a hoof and laying out Mac's bed for him. "Thanks," Mac muttered.

"No problem."

"Ain't easy livin' without magic, is it?" Mac asked as Shining got back into his bedroll and threw a blackout cloth over the lantern.

"I'd be more comfortable if I had it, yeah," he admitted guardedly.

An uncomfortable silence entered the cave as they tried to get some sleep, though the sounds of the forest echoed through the cave as though the creatures inhabited it alongside them.

"When d'ya think they'll come lookin' for us?" Mac whispered.

"Not for a week, at least," Shining replied glumly.

"Great..."

Mac remembered the days he spent in the forest with Shining. Per the training requirements, they'd only had enough food to last them four days. Since Mac wasn't exactly mobile, it fell upon Shining to do most of the gathering—a fact he was quick to remind him of after returning to the cave with their dinner. After a few days, their make-shift home was beginning to smell as though two unwashed stallions had been living in it. Deciding he could stand it no longer, Shining declared it was time they found a stream to bathe in.

A look of remorse fell across Mac's features as the wind began to die down in way of the approaching night. It was on that little trip that he did something he regretted even now. Looking back on it, it was the most awkward, embarrassing thing that he could have done, but at the time...

"Dude, you reek," Shining stated bluntly after tossing Mac a few wild greens he'd found while foraging.

"Thanks for the update," Mac replied with his mouth full.

"Look," the unicorn teased. "I don't know how often you earth ponies in that backwater town you're from bathe, but if I can smell you from outside the cave, it's bath time."

"It ain't just me stinkin' up this cave," Mac replied, focused on his meal.

"Well it ain't gonna be just me down by the river, either." Shining trotted over to Mac and threw his good hoof over his shoulder. "Up ya go," Shining strained, lifting Mac shakily onto his back.

"Is this really necessary?" Mac complained.

"It is if we want to get there by sunrise tomorrow," Shining shot back, resigning Mac to his position. As they traveled, Mac's vision bobbed up and down as Shining's flanks worked to keep them both going. He was certainly a strong pony, the strongest he'd met in person besides his father. His forelegs dangling around Shining's neck, Mac slouched on his mount.

"Tell ya what, you just wake me when we get there," Mac yawned. He rested his head along Shining's mane and closed his eyes, the constantly moving mass beneath him gently lulling him to sleep as they went. In no time at all, Mac was passed out.

With an unceremonious thud, Mac tumbled off of Shining's back.

"Ah! Ya didn't have ta drop me!" Mac snapped, thanking Celestia he hadn't hit his injured hoof on the way down.

"Sorry, I was kinda getting tired of getting jabbed in the back for an hour," he said softly, though loud enough for Mac to hear as he walked toward the clear waters of a spring a few steps ahead.

Mac raised an eyebrow before realizing what he meant. Sure enough, upon inspection, it appeared little Macintosh decided to make its presence known on the ride over. If Macintosh wasn't red before, he was red now.

"Ah... uh, Ah'm sorry,—it's just that when ya fall asleep, sometimes ya get—"

"Don't worry about it," Shining called over his shoulder, beckoning Mac to follow him into the water he was already wading in. "Just get in."

Mac looked at his splint, and then back at the water. "You sure Ah should get this wet?"

"No, but I'm sure you need to stop smelling like that," Shining countered. "Don't make me drag you in."

Macintosh stood on his three good legs and hobbled over to the edge. Shining was already wither-deep, and began swimming around like a duck in a pond. Mac, however, was a lot more timid about his entrance. Slowly, he began to back into the water, hind legs first. As he acclimated, he had to admit the water felt great, and he probably did stink pretty badly. Being a farmer, he was somewhat used to unpleasant smells.

Just as Mac was about to lower his torso into the water, he felt a pair of hooves wrap firmly around his waist. His ears shot straight up as he whipped his head around.

"You're taking too long Mac!" Shining called from behind him, a foal-like grin on his face.

"Shining, so help me if you—"

"What's that? I can't hear you over the sound of our splash!" Shining lifted Mac out of the water, into the air, and then back down into the water on top of him. They separated as Mac swam to a shallower end of the spring, flicking his ears and mane to dry himself off. Though his bandages were soaked, he figured he could always re-apply them. His ankle had stopped swelling a bit, so perhaps a bit of revenge was in order.

"You done it now," Mac threatened, the same playful smile on his face that Shining wore earlier. "An earth pony with three legs, and a unicorn with no magic." Mac tossed his head back triumphantly, "Ah think Ah know who'll win."

Shining narrowed his stance and returned his mock-glare. "You think you can take me?"

"Why don't we find out?"

Act III

A blush fell over Mac's face to match the redness of the setting sun. What happened between the two of them in that shallow, warm spring would forever haunt his memories. In the heat of the moment, Mac wouldn't have considered another option. The strange thing was... that Mac had never considered what something so meaningful would be like with another stallion. In fact, the idea disgusted him somewhat.

After all, he was a stallion, and he knew how generally gross stallions could be on any given day. Shining was different, however. He couldn't say how, but he just... was. When he looked at him, something in his stomach flipped. The smell of his mane, the feel of his muscles beneath his coat, and the glances he would catch Shining stealing when he thought he wasn't looking. He'd never been so bold as to actually call him out. Heck, they barely spoke of it afterwards, but in the time they were lost in the forest, they had only each other to rely on, to look after, and to protect.

Mac and Shining stood at opposite ends of the rather small spring. The two stallions managed to hobble at each other, meeting in the middle for an impromptu wrestling match. Mac was no match for Shining, even without magic. With an injured hoof, he wasn't much use to anypony, let alone in a contest between a pony with four working limbs. As they jostled against each other, Mac began to gain the upper hoof, only to have Shining reclaim his dominant position. Even though they were quite rough with each other, Mac's injury was never exploited or even bumped into while they had their mock fight.

Eventually, Mac found himself pinned beneath Shining, his forelegs firmly holding Mac's to the ground. "Give up yet?" he asked.

"Hardly!" Mac replied, trying in vain to throw Shining off.

"Face it, Mac," Shining said smugly. "I've got you beat."

"Ah don't think so!" he grunted, lifting both forelegs up and slowly reclaiming the ground he'd lost. Shining acted quickly, using his magic on reflex to hold down his opponent. Mac was heartily pushed back into the water.

"Hey!" he shouted in protest. "You cheated!" As soon as Mac stopped fighting, Shining laid his weight on top of him.

"So, ready to admit I'm the better stallion?" Shining asked, his smiling visage inches from Mac's.

"Never," Mac growled playfully, still struggling beneath his adversary to no avail.

"Well, I'm not letting you up until I hear it," Shining insisted.

"Then Ah suppose we'll be here a while."

He simply grinned. "Fine by me. Wake me when you're ready to admit defeat."

Mac was as stubborn as anypony in his family, and wasn't about to give up anytime soon. They ended up falling asleep on the edge of the spring. Shining fell asleep first, but for whatever reason, Mac resisted pushing the sleeping stallion off of him. In fact, he appreciated his body heat in the cold night air. It was like having a living, muscular blanket covering his every inch.

Soon, he too was asleep, only his slumber would not be very restful. He dreamt of Shining. More importantly, himself and Shining. The details weren't important, but Mac was certain he'd never entertained the thought of doing what he did with Shining in his dream.

Mac could live with a dream. After all, nopony but him would know what he did inside his own head. Unfortunately, some aspects of the dream carried over into the real world. As he began to awaken from his sleepy haze, he realized something was pressing against his lips. Instead of fighting it, he allowed it to continue. Later, he would blame it on sleeplessness, or being disoriented after waking up, but at the time, he had to have known what was going on, and did nothing to stop it.

It felt like he spent years beneath Shining as their lips moved sloppily against one another, but he didn't care. He felt his heart exploding with joy as his faculties slowly came back to him. He was getting his first kiss! He'd have never guessed it would have come from another stallion, but that didn't make it any less special. A more troubling thought began to enter his mind as he cracked his eyelids to make sure he wasn't still having a very vivid dream. Sure enough, Shining was just as into it as he seemed to be.

Mac moved his good hoof a bit, seeming to shock Shining out of his blissful state. As soon as the movement of his lips stopped, he felt him pull away.

Mac opened his eyes. He'd have sworn he was looking in a mirror for the redness on Shining's face. Both were at a loss for words. After all, what do you say when you discover your best friend up until now not only wanted to be physically intimate with you, but also doesn't mind the stigma attached to being known as a 'tail-raiser?' Though it was tolerated in the Royal Guard, it was usually a good idea to keep your orientation to yourself, or at the very least keep it off of military installations.

The time they spent looking at each other in embarrassed silence felt like eons. Neither could accuse the other of taking advantage, as they'd both had chances to stop, yet they didn't. It was a bit surreal, the moon providing the perfect backdrop for their clandestine romance. Finally, Shining decided to break the silence.

"Well..." he began, his voice crackling nervously for the first time in Mac's presence. "We can either stop now, and pretend this didn't happen, or—"

Mac had made up his mind. His forelegs wrapped tightly around Shining's neck and pulled him in close, ignoring the pain in his hoof as he brought the lips he'd missed back against his own.

That was one of Mac's favorite memories, but also one of the most painful. He sighed as the sun was now barely visible over the horizon. That night was one of the happiest nights of his life. Once they'd gotten back to the cave, they began expressing their feelings for each other, using nothing but magic and themselves. They stayed at it for hours, until neither had the strength to do anything but sleep in each others embrace, safe in the knowledge that they'd found something special together.

Unfortunately, it was never meant to last.

They were picked up by a rescue brigade a few days afterwards. Though they'd talked and laughed most of the time they'd been in the wilderness, each clammed up as soon as they were back in the presence of other stallions. The march back was a quiet one, and even the day after they'd returned, they didn't speak much.

After he left the infirmary, Mac was afraid he'd ruined the only friendship he'd ever made on his own by letting his emotions get in the way. The next few days of training were simply a blur. The usual talks they'd have about their subordinates or what goofy things they'd done that day were absent. Mac rarely got so much as a 'G'night' from him as he climbed into his bunk. In record time, he'd gone from the happiest he'd ever been, to being more alone than the Mare in the Moon.

Mac tried to push Shining out of his thoughts. It proved somewhat difficult when he had to see the stallion he thought he knew so well every day. On the brighter side of things, his parents were due in to see their son after being informed of his 'missing' status.

Until one fateful evening.

Mac got called into Sargent Castille's office. Ordinarily, this meant he was either going to be punished or commended, and Mac was sure he hadn't done anything praise or damnation worthy.

"Sit down, son," Castille said, sitting behind his desk as he allowed Mac to sit. "I've got some bad news for you."

Mac's ears perked up. What kind of bad news could he have? Were they going to war? Was he being kicked out?

"Yes, Sergeant?"

Castille let out a long, heavy sigh as he rubbed his eyes with a hoof. "Cadet Apple, I hate to be the one to have to tell you this," he began. "Are your parents named," he checked the paper on his desk "Gala and Red?"

Mac swallowed hard, though the truth of the matter was the furthest thing from his mind. "Yes, Sergeant."

"Son... there was a train crash between Canterlot and Ponyville yesterday," he said sadly. "Your parents were on board that train."

For a moment, Mac went deaf. A train crash? Was his sister with them? Was Granny Smith there too? What about his newborn sister, Apple Bloom?

"Are they in the hospital? Which one? Ah've got ta—" Mac asked rapid-fire, though he was settled by his instructor.

"They didn't make it, son. I'm sorry."

Mac couldn't believe what he was hearing. In an instant, his world was shattered. Both his parents were taken from him in the blink of an eye. His family—the most important thing to an earth pony— was gone, leaving only himself, his siblings, and his ailing granny.

For a while, Mac sat in silence. Sergeant Castille was trained to deal with loss, and how to talk others through it, though Mac wasn't doing much talking. Silent tears began to drip from his eyes as he stared blankly at Castille's desk. Just the other week he'd gotten letters from home. His mother had even helped Applejack write him one in crayon, which he kept in his hooflocker with the others.

Eventually, Mac finally broke down, soft sobs echoing out of Sergeant Castille's office.

"Listen son, if you ever need to talk to anypony, my door is always open." Castille walked to Mac and attempted to comfort him. "If you need to take a day, I can have your platoon join up with another one for the day's events."

Mac simply nodded, unable to say or do anything but breathe. In the time he'd been in his instructor's office, the rest of the barracks had left for the days exercises, leaving his hoof steps to echo through the empty room. He made his way to his corner bunk before softly sitting on his bed, still trying to grasp what was just revealed to him. The rest of the day seemed like a sorrowful blur. A mix of sleeping and silently crying into his pillow for fear somepony might see him.

Mac had lost track of time by the time stallions began to file in from another hard day of training. Mac was more than a little apprehensive about Shining's arrival. Would he care that Mac was absent? Would he care that he'd been in bed all day (with permission)?

Mac would soon have his answer as a soft, familiar voice woke him from his daze.

"Hey, buddy," Shining nearly whispered, taking a seat on the edge of his bed.

Those two words were the most he'd gotten out of him since they'd been back. He very nearly wanted to shout at him to go rut himself. After all, it only took a terrible tragedy to get him to talk to him again. Fortunately, Mac wasn't in the mood to do much yelling. The tears had stopped a few hours earlier as Mac rolled away from his pillow and faced Shining. Even in his darkest hour, the sight of him alone put a spark of hope in his heart.

"I... I took your platoon today," he began awkwardly.

"Ah figured," Mac replied.

"They're pretty good." Shining smiled, trying and failing alleviate the awkwardness of their conversation.

"Ah know," Mac said quickly. Through all the time he'd been given to think about his commitment, he'd come to a fork in his path. He could either follow through with the Royal Guards, leaving his grandmother to take care of his sisters and send them money and visit when he could. Or he could drop out of basic, go back to the farm, and take care of his family. The decision hinged on Shining. "Listen, Ah think Ah'm gonna quit," he said bluntly, refusing eye contact with the blue eyes he'd felt so strongly for in the forest.

"Quit? Like, for good?" he stammered.

"Yeah. Ah S'pose you heard what happened?"

"No, I just thought you were sick or something," Shining replied.

"My parents died."

His nonchalant admission stunned Shining. "So... wait, seriously? I'm... I'm so sorry, Mac—"

"It ain't your fault," he said coldly. Mac was never one for pity-parties, and he certainly wasn't about to start now.

A moment of intense silence followed before Shining decided to say something. "I'm sorry about your parents Mac, really."

"Ah know," he mumbled, "but somepony's gotta take care of what's left of my family,"

Shining put a hoof onto Mac's as they met eyes for the first time in what felt like weeks. "Are you sure you want to leave?"

Mac's decision to stay hinged on Shining's response to his next sentence.

"Ah am, unless you give me a reason to stay. Can you?"

Shining knew what he meant, and knew the answer before he'd even finished the question. He broke eye contact, giving Mac all the reply he needed.

"I... I can't do that, Mac."

Mac left basic the next day, without so much as a 'see ya' to Shining, the stallion that he'd shared so much with—the first real friend he'd made on his own. The rest, as they say, is history. He knew why Shining couldn't give him the reason he wanted. It was an unwritten rule that any stallion looking to break into the top brass needed a wife and to more or less establish himself as a 'family stallion'. It was a stupid, outdated rule, but it was not his to change. Shining was thinking of his future, in the same way Mac was thinking about his own.

Mac was about to stand up and head into the farmhouse. The nights were getting colder, and soon it'd be quite frigid out.

He cast a quick glance to the castle in the distance, a few fireworks silently illuminating the sky from afar. He bet Shining had a nice ceremony, especially considering his status. A small part of Mac wished he'd gone. In the many arguments with himself about making an appearance, he knew the only thing he'd be able to do there was remind himself what he left behind on the road he could have traveled. Not to mention the shame of dropping out of basic and possibly seeing some of his old squad-mates at the wedding.

A flash of blue light lit behind him, as though a firework had traveled all the way from Canterlot just to explode and scare the daylights out of him.

"I missed you at the wedding."

Mac recognized that voice. He turned his head to see a familiar stallion in red formal attire, mane draped neatly over his horn but stopping just short of being in his eyes.

"Ah didn't belong there," Mac insisted.

"If you didn't belong there, I wouldn't have sent you an invitation." Shining took a seat next to him on the hilltop as night settled in. "So this is what you were protecting, huh?"

"Eeyup."

He was happy to see Shining, but careful to maintain his stoic demeanor.

Shining sighed. He wasn't really sure why he'd teleported out here in the first place, or how he'd even managed the exact hilltop Mac was occupying! The sheer odds were enormous! But he was happy he'd managed to sneak away from the reception a bit early while his wife was still greeting the attendees. Cadence being the princess of love could tell when something was wrong with her husband.

"Listen, Mac, I came out here because when you left, I felt so bad the way we left things—"

"It ain't your fault," Mac muttered. "You were just thinkin' about your future in the guards. Ah just wasn't in it."

"It's not that," Shining assured him. "It's how stupid I was after we were rescued. I could tell you wanted to talk about what we'd done, but I was too afraid of what the others might think if they found out, or what actually admitting to myself that my feelings for you weren't going to go away would mean for me." He paused, glancing over at Mac only to find him still gazing at the illuminated castle in the distance. "I was just so confident I knew who I was, and then... you came along." He nudged his shoulder, getting a small smile out of Mac.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter," Mac grumbled. "You've got her now."

"C'mon, she's not so bad once you get to know her," Shining teased. "You know, at first I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I saw you again, if I ever did. But since our sisters turned out to be Elements of Harmony, I guess you can't avoid me."

"Ah guess you're right there," Mac sighed.

Shining stood up, reaching his hoof into his jacket. "Anyway, I want you to have this," he said, removing his tags with a quick yank and dropping them beside Mac. He glanced at them, noticing the date.

"These... are from basic?"

"That's right. I graduated head of my class, but I couldn't have done it without you."

"Shining... Ah can't accept these. Ah didn't earn 'em."

"Yes you did, Mac. You made the decision to give up your dreams to take care of your family. Anypony can follow a dream, it takes a real stallion to give theirs up for the sake of somepony they love."

Mac began to blink rapidly, turning away from him. "Celestia damnit, Shining," he whispered.

"Hey now, no waterworks!" Shining laughed, draping a foreleg around him as he got ahold of himself.

He sat briefly next to Mac as he gave him a hug. During the embrace, he whispered to him:

"I know Cadence is my wife, and I love her with everything I've got." He paused. "But she isn't you. And she never will be."

Mac smiled as he looked to Shining. They sat there, holding each other until they began to shiver from the cold.

"Well, I've got to get back to the reception, I'm sure Cadence is wondering where I am." Shining stood up, as did Mac.

"Yeah, ya better be gettin' back. Keep an eye on my sisters, will ya?"

Shining charged his spell. "Don't worry, they're in good hooves." With a blue flash, he was gone, leaving Mac alone on the hillside with nothing but an old set of dog-tags. He took them in his mouth and began his trek back to the farmhouse. Shining's scent was still heavy on the tags, and he was certain he hadn't seen the last of him.

As he entered the house, he found Granny Smith asleep in her favorite rocker. Apart from that, the usually-noisy Apple house was empty. He slowly creaked his way up the stairs and into his bedroom. His injury would need to be re-wrapped tomorrow, but those were concerns for later. He closed his door and took a seat on his bed, removing from beneath it a small box with the seal of the Royal Guards on the top. He flipped it open, and carefully placed Shining's tags next to the letters his family had sent him while he was at basic.

The top letter was a crayon drawing from Applejack. The crudely drawn ponies on the page were busy happily bucking apples, as the crayon scrawling would suggest. Mac smiled as he flipped it over, Applejack's writing covering the other side.

Dear Big Macintosh,

I miss you and love you and want you to come home so we can play! Paw and Ma both miss you very much and me too! I hope you are having fun at army camp! I drew hearts on the other paper to show how much I love you!

xoxo Applejack

On the paper beneath, there was an full piece of letter paper colored with nothing but oddly shaped hearts with a little note from his mother at the bottom.

We are proud of you, son. Hang in there, and you'll be a Royal Guard in no time!

Love, Ma and Pa

Mac inhaled sharply as he read the note from his mother. The paper was crinkled in places, signs of tears that had long since dried.

A few hours passed before he heard a knock at his door and quickly closed the box, stashing it under his bed as Applejack nudged her way in.

"You missed a heck'uva reception, Mac," she said happily. She looked great in her apple themed dress. He was sure she and Apple Bloom had a good time.

"Yeah, well, ya been ta one reception, ya been to 'em all." He shrugged as Applejack drew nearer.

"Trust me, you ain't been ta one like this," she assured him. "Had the box out again, did ya?"

Mac smiled. His sister knew him well. "Eeyup. Ah was lookin' at some of the letters you sent me when you were little."

Applejack blushed in embarrassment. "Ah didn't know you still had those..."

"Eeyup."

"Well, what'd you do all day?" she asked, taking a seat on his bed beside him.

Mac sighed, searching for the right answer. "Ah... saw an old friend from basic."

"Anypony Ah'd know?" she asked.

Mac glanced toward her. "Nah, Ah don't think so."

"Alright then, Ah'm gonna help Granny with supper, be down in a few," she said, heading out of his room.

Mac sat back against his bed, thinking about the afternoon's events. Perhaps the nagging he felt in the back of his mind about what his life could have been in the ranks of the Royal Guards would never go away. Perhaps his errant thoughts of Shining wouldn't either. However, he couldn't imagine any other life other than the one he lived. He was sincerely happy that while he had given up a shot at a life of glory and prestige in the palace, he had embraced a life surrounded by his loved ones.

"Mac! Supper's ready!" Applejack called from downstairs.

He smiled, rubbing his eyes with a hoof. Macintosh settled his hooves on the old wooden floor. He walked toward the door, ready to face a delicious country dinner, and a thousand years of peace.